Month: July 2015

As I was wandering around the great blog-o-sphere recently, I ran across a weekly post by Jeff Martin called Tuesday Writing Thoughts, specifically, the post from June 16 – Novel Preparation. The blog had me reflecting on my own writer’s journey, how my writing technique has changed with book two in the series, and what works for me as a writer.

When I started writing I couldn’t imagine being a panster, someone who creates the story out of the mist. With book one I was rigid with my style and struggled to keep to my outline while feeling good about the results. Frustrated, I opted to let the story take me where it wanted to go. The book had the same planned ending but I got a better story by letting go of my strict format.

These days my style has morphed to one that starts with a basic outline, maybe even a complete one. Then the fun begins. As the story unfolds I’ve learned to go with the flow and let my characters take me where they will, I just hang on for the ride. I know I can always make changes on future drafts and the freedom I feel, as the story takes me on an adventure, is like flying.

Jeff Martin is a poet, aspiring novelist and singer/songwriter based out of northern CA. If you want to catch Jeff’s follow up to Novel Preparation or his other writings, you can find him at The Oak Wheel.